{"id":403,"date":"2025-09-22T11:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/?p=403"},"modified":"2025-10-06T09:34:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:34:24","slug":"nyus-south-asian-sorority-girls-on-how-they-find-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/22\/nyus-south-asian-sorority-girls-on-how-they-find-community\/","title":{"rendered":"NYU\u2019s South Asian sorority girls on how they find community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With viral videos of blue-eyed girls in their low-rise jeans dancing to \u201cThe Sweet Escape\u201d by Gwen Stefani, sorority rush season has completely taken over colleges across the United States. However, there is not a single Brown face <\/span>pictured in the flash mob.<\/span><\/a> This is the perception of rush season that is common among South Asian girls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most panhellenic sororities are a predominantly white space, yet NYU rush culture proves that wrong. The sororities focus on sisterhood, philanthropy and connecting you to mentors who can help you be the best version of yourself \u2014 but even after hearing this inclusive narrative, Brown girls can’t help but wonder if they actually belong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Liberal Studies first-year Ayesha Azfar, these concerns hit close to home. Azfar is from a small, predominantly Brown town in Central New Jersey where fears and misconceptions about sorority life ran rampant \u2014 but from what she knew, rushing was a good way to make friends. Her initial fears regarding hazing and feeling different were proven wrong by the rush process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe [Panhellenic Council] is very much focused on creating an inclusive environment,\u201d Azfar said. \u201cI feel like everybody I met was always all about sisterhood and friendships.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Azfar also said the Panhellenic Council was focused on creating an inclusive environment, and she has no regrets about rushing. Her biggest concern was sacrificing one identity for another. This is the crux of CAS senior Ishika Bharath\u2019s work. As president of NYU Panhellenic Council, she uses her influence to make girls like Azfar know that they belong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an Indian woman myself, diversity is obviously something super important to me, and that was something I wanted to make sure was at the center of what I was doing,\u201d Bharath said. \u201cAll of the sororities have a DEI position within them on their executive boards. We have a Vice President of DEI who ensures values-based recruitment and cultivates a safe and comfortable environment for everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even so, the fear of being the odd one out creeps into every Brown girl\u2019s mind when rushing. For Azfar, this worry subsided when she saw women like Bharath in Greek life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the presidents is a Brown girl, and then another girl is the [vice president] of recruitment,\u201d Azfar said. \u201cI feel like going there and seeing Brown girls being in these positions, I was like \u2018Okay, it\u2019s perfectly fine.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For many South Asian girls, the idea of joining a sorority comes with hesitation from parents who associate Greek life as a distraction from academics. But for Tandon senior Radhika Mishra, the reaction was the opposite; her parents were surprisingly supportive. Instead of raising concerns, they saw the value in the leadership opportunities, network and community that Delta Phi Epsilon offered. Even her family in India got wind of her accomplishments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I got the position, I got calls from my grandparents, like they were so excited,\u201d Mishra said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past few years, NYU Greek life has taken massive steps to celebrate South Asian culture as a part of its panhellenic events. For Bharath, bringing aspects of her own culture to her sorority sisters to be celebrated holds a lot of importance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a Diwali event last year,\u201d Bharath said. \u201cWe got catered Indian food from a place around the corner and we made rangolis. We also did a Holi event in Wash, which was very fun.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the topic of multiculturalism, multicultural sororities offer aspects of cultural community that a lot of South Asians might find comforting. In light of all the rave surrounding sorority rush, multicultural sororities often get left in the dark. Many South Asian girls may not even know that they exist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019d mostly heard about panehellenic rush on social media,\u201d Azfar said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In reality, <\/span>multicultural sorority life<\/span><\/a> thrives at NYU. The university hosts the nation\u2019s first and only philanthropic South Asian sorority, Delta Kappa Delta, that provides a sense of community that is not specific to certain racial or ethnic groups. The multicultural sorority includes members from all over the South Asian subcontinent as well as from the Middle East, and anyone is welcome to join Delta Kappa Delta so long as they are open to learning about South Asian history and heritage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked what advice they would give to South Asian girls considering rushing, both Mishra and Bharath emphasized breaking down the stereotypes surrounding sorority culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI realized these are also girls my age, and I think to perceive them that way is so much easier,\u201d Mishra said. \u201cThey\u2019re not just girls judging you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on their experiences as trailblazers in the panhellenic space, Mishra elaborates that South Asian girls can sometimes feel pressure to present themselves a certain way to gain acceptance, but they shouldn’t. Both presidents stress the best approach is to be yourself, because authenticity is what ultimately helps you find the right community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go into it just thinking everyone\u2019s gonna care about your looks or your money, that\u2019s just not true,\u201d Bharath said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about who you are as a person.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Rhea Kohli and Shreeya Goyal at culture@nyunews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story NYU\u2019s South Asian sorority girls on how they find community<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With viral videos of blue-eyed girls in their low-rise jeans dancing to \u201cThe Sweet Escape\u201d by Gwen Stefani, sorority rush season has completely taken over colleges across the United States. However, there is not a single Brown face pictured in the flash mob. This is the perception of rush season that is common among South…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions\/406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.goldentriangledelhiagrajaipur.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}